Hundreds of thousands of Australians will be affected by a huge increase in electricity bills

Half a million Victorian residents and small businesses will be affected by separate increases of $350 and $750 on average.

The measures on Thursday will put pressure on many families, who will see their energy bills increase during the winter.

AER’s decision affects customers in New South Wales, South East Queensland and South Australia who are on Default Market Offer (DMO) for the next fiscal year.

Customers in Victoria and Tasmania are part of a different process and Western Australia and the Northern Territory are in a different market.

The DMO is the maximum price that providers give to households and businesses in permanent offers that have not sought a more competitive offer, in effect, a price cap.

Starting July 1, residential customers with standard retail plans will see price increases from 20.8% to 23.9% without controlled charge and from 19.6% to 24.9% with controlled charge, depending on your region.

Small business customers face increases from 14.7% to 28.9%, depending on their region.

The AER said the revised increase was based on stakeholder feedback and took into account updated environmental, network and wholesale schemes and retail costs, the latest inflation forecasts and reduced retail allocation in NSW.

Victorians will see an increase of $350 per year in the average household bill under their process, $750 for the average small business.

“You will see increases in default offers across the country today,” Essential Services Commission Chair Kate Symons said.

The change will affect 500,000 homes and businesses in the default offer.

AER chairwoman Clare Savage said the regulator had to balance cost-of-living pressures facing customers with the need for retailers to recoup reasonable costs.

“We know that households and small businesses continue to face cost-of-living pressures on many fronts, and that’s why it’s important that the DMO provide a safety net for those who might not have looked for a better energy deal,” he said. Savage.

“By setting DMO pricing this year, we seek to protect consumers from unreasonably high prices while allowing retailers to offer consumers better deals than their standard plans.”